Up to 70 medtech jobs are to be created at Merck’s Cork facility after it opened two new R&D facilities this week. €55 million investment in a speciality membrane facility (SMF) and chromatography media facility (CMF) will see the creation of new roles within the next 18 months. The investment expands the capabilities of the site and centralises it in the company’s global operations, said Merck Cork managing director, Martin McAuliffe. McAuliffe explained that the investment is split into two areas, both of which are significant for the site. “It’s very significant; it’s a really important day for us,” he said. “We’re a centre of excellence for membrane manufacturing in the company. "So, about 90 per cent of all the membrane that’s used worldwide in Merck, which goes into filtration products, is produced and shipped from this facility, so, to get another investment in that area is very important to us, because it builds on what we already have here, and the second investment, then, which is chromatography media facility — that’s a new area for Cork. “That’s important, because it’s a new departure for us and it gets us into a new area of the business that we can grow over time,” he concluded. The jobs will be created in the areas of general manufacturing, R&D, engineering, chemistry, microbiology and quality assurance. There are currently 700 people employed at Merck’s Cork operation, with 400 construction workers used to build the two specialist centres.